Mountain bikers go gearless with their single-speed steeds

Dustin Fletcher/Special to The OregonianNo derailleur, no problem. Single-speed mountain bikes, like this Kona Unit that also goes without front or rear suspension, are gaining popularity in Bend, Eugene and other mountain biking locales.

The trend toward back-to-the-basics bikes extends off the pavement, as evidenced by the increasing number of mountain bikers in Oregon and elsewhere on single-speed bikes.

These are mountain bikes with only one gear ratio and often none of the heavy-duty suspension that's become a fixture on modern trail-riding bikes.

For those who already consider mountain biking just pedal-powered masochism, the attraction to riding without the help of gears and comfort of shocks might be hard to grasp.

"I stuck with it because of the simplicity and purity of just pedaling," says Tom Letsinger, a member of the Disciples of Dirt, the Eugene mountain biking club.

"There is a kind of athletic Zen state when it's just you moving down the trail without any distractions," said Letsinger, who started riding a single speed bike seven years ago. "That and because it hurts more."

Single speeds are deliberate backlash to bling-heavy bikes that have been the trend since American mountain biking pioneers began bombing down Marin County's Mount Tamalpais on modified cruiser bikes in the 1970s.

"It's kind of pleasant to go out on a fully rigid single speed and have as much fun as you would have on some $7,000 wonder bike," says Single Speed World Champion Carl Decker of Bend.

Decker, who rides geared bikes for Team Giant, built his first single speed in his garage about eight years ago, when single-speed bikes were still fairly rare.

Today Bend, with its surplus of rolling trails and relatively mild climbs, might be the epicenter of Oregon single-speed riding. It seems you can't throw a bottle of Mirror Pond Pale Ale at Phil's Trail west of town without hitting a single speeder.

With companies like Kona and Surly mass producing off-the-shelf single-speed bikes, one no longer need be a tinkerer with a garage full of extra cogs and chains to ride one.

Because of their relative simplicity, single-speed bikes cost less when new than their fully geared counterparts and are easier to maintain over the long run. A basic Redline Monocog single speed can be had for as little as $300, while a nicer Kona or Surly will run you $800 to $1,100, respectively. Conversion kits for your current bike can be had for less than $100.

There are some disadvantages: It's harder to speed through flats and mild descents because you tend to get going faster than your legs can pedal.

Keeping momentum becomes a priority, and with no shocks to soften the bumps in the case of a "fully rigid" bike, you have to be careful picking your lines.

"It's not for beginners," Decker says. "Most people benefit from the gears. You have to be pretty strong."

Though the debate about the relative efficiency and utility of single speeds continues ad nauseam on cycling Web sites and at trail junctions, for most single-speed riders it just comes down to fun.

"If you do a lot of climbing it can be brutal lung-busting misery," said one poster on mtbr.com, the single-speed forum. "On nice, rolly, curvy terrain it is a blast."

Even without gears, there are still plenty of things for single speeders to argue over: front suspension or rigid fork; disc or cantilever brakes; 26- or 29-inch wheels?

And as with any counterculture, single speeders have a clannish way all their own, whether online or on the trail.

After Decker won the world championships in Napa, Calif., in a racing uniform he later described as mostly "dental floss and good intentions," his prize was an "SSWC 2008" tattoo on his chest. (Decker followed Adam Craig, a fellow Bend resident and Giant rider who took the 2007 title. Craig was busy at the Olympics this year and missed the single-speed championships.)

"Generally, single speeders are hard men," Decker says. "There's a certain amount of just loving to punish yourself and make it through adversity to get into single-speed racing."